Overview
Since its creation in 1995, EliteSingles.com has grown into one of the biggest and best online dating platforms. EliteSingles.com has a large variety of well-developed features and expansive search filters, setting it apart from other top dating sites. With an estimated 30 million members across 24 countries, you can be sure that your dream date is only a few clicks away. EliteSingles.com caters to your personal preferences – including senior dating, gay or lesbian relationships, and matches by Christian, Jewish or other religious affiliations.
| Best for: compatibility-based matchmaking |
| User base: straight, gay, lesbian, bi, Christian, Jewish |
| Number of members: 30 million |
| Recommended age: 18+ |
| Favorite features: Real-life events & Missed Connections feature |
Video Review
Pros
- Expert matchmaking & extensive search filters
- Around 30 million members
- Variety of live events & trips
Cons
- Ads on site
- Cannot see who likes you without subscribing
- Only paying members can communicate
Signup Process & Profile Building
To get started with match.com, you will need to set aside some time to complete the signup and profile building section.
- Basic Info: Select your gender and the gender you are seeking, followed by age and location. The site caters to daters of all ages and sexual preference. Users can either link their profile to Facebook or enter an email address, choose a password, and mark their birthday. Finally, choose a username.
- Questions About You and Your Ideal Match: Match.com wants to learn as much about you as possible in order to recommend the best possible matches. You will be asked a sequence of questions. For each question, you will have to provide 2 answers. One about yourself and the second about your ideal match. Topics of questions include: appearance, lifestyle, salary, children, interests, and more. When answering about your ideal match there is the option to mark specific questions as deal breakers. This is extremely useful as it helps ensure singles don’t waste time on users that have or lack a characteristic crucial to them in a partner. Users can skip questions at any time.
- About Me: Users are prompted to complete an “About Me” section. This section can be a maximum of 100 characters and can be changed later on.
- Photos: The last step is uploading photos. Match.com highly recommends uploading photos as profiles with pictures get 20 times more views than those without pictures.
If creating your profile is hard for you or you feel you are not connecting with the type of matches you want to, consider using match.com’s Profile Pro. For $39.99, the Profile Pro has a pro write your profile for you. The match.com writers know exactly how to make you sound more approachable and appealing. This is a great option if the pressure of writing something well is too much.
Prices
Singles can sign up for match.com and browse profiles free or charge. Free members can receive and search matches, create a profile and appear in search results, post a photo, send winks, and have general mobile access.
A paid subscription gives users access to all of the above and more. The benefits of all of the subscription plans include:
- Communicate with other singles
- Priority access to events
- Instant messaging, email messaging, read and reply to emails on mobile
- Remove members from view
- See who’s viewed you
- One click search type
| Duration | Price per Month |
|---|---|
| 1 Month | $40.99 |
| 3 Months | $25.99 |
| 6 Months | $22.99 |
| 12 Months | $19.99 |
See match.com’s detailed pricing plans
*Last updated October 2017
Matchmaking & Search Functions
Expert matchmaking services combined with extensive search options lead to match.com’s high success rate. There are multiple ways of being matched on the site and the search options are extremely extensive.
Daily Matches
These customized matches are sent to each user’s inbox on a daily basis. They are based on your profile preferences and how you interact on the site. By rating the matches sent to you, you can improve the quality of future matches. Your interaction is the key to success. Some Daily Matches may seem to differ from your preferences. Trust match.com’s experience in matchmaking. You just might find the right one that way.
Reverse match
This allows you to see singles who are searching for someone like you even though they might not fit what you are looking for.
Mutual match
See singles who you match with. They meet your search criteria and you meet theirs.
Match me
Match me places you in the Daily Matches of people you really like. It will not work if you don’t match someone the other person’s search criteria.
Search
A search can be done according to extremely specific preferences. They are categorized according to: interests, looks, personal, and lifestyle.
- Interests: as specific as an interest in a specific sport or hobby to having a certain pet
- Looks: details of their appearance
- Personal: family, ethnicity, astrology, education, languages
- Lifestyle: healthy habits, faith, occupation, income, politics
Searches can be saved and returned to another day. Additionally, a search can be done by username.
Features
Although there are a lot of features on the site, match.com is easy to use. You will find everything you need in the tabs at the top of the page. You are just a click away from conducting a search, viewing matches, checking your messages and other handy information.
When you visit a profile, all of the most important information is laid out in front of you. Profiles include basic info, an “about me” section and photos. This is followed by convenient sections highlighting what you have in common.
When viewing profiles, you can send winks, “favorite” people and see who’s favorited or simply viewed you. There is also the option to use private mode so that your profile is visible only to those you choose.
When a user creates his or her profile, they can mark certain preferences as “deal breakers.” This feature is crucial as it eliminates irrelevant matches from the mix.
Additional features include:
Photo Messaging
This unique feature allows users to send private messages on photos. It’s simple, you see an interesting photo on someone’s profile and you send a message on the photo visible to the other person only. This feature is meant to be used to help break the ice. For example, you come across an interesting picture on someone’s profile. He is standing on a pickup truck and behind him, his 4 yorkies are lined up in a row. There is plenty you could write on that photo to start a conversation. Finally, you can request more photos from a user at the click of a button.
matchPhone
Accept call requests, talk and text, send and receive email messages, see who has viewed your profile and manage your connections through matchPhone.
Top Spot
Get 3 times more emails and views, and push your profile to the top of search results with Top Spot. Each Top Spot session lasts 60 minutes. This feature can be purchased with Match.com coins.
Live Events
Match.com offers creative and interesting events in a large variety of locations. With events ranging from karaoke night, to game of thrones trivia night, singles parties, trips abroad and webinars to a grand central station ghost hunt – there is truly something for everyone.
Missed Connections
In 2017, match.com rolled-out a new feature that turns almost encounters into real-life connections. The feature – Missed Connections – uses geolocation to tell users when another user they are compatible with has been in their area. The notification is sent only a few hours later and only gives the general location, for security reasons. Once a user receives the notification they’re given an opening to reach out to the user who was in their area, with an ice breaker supplied by match.com (hopefully replacing the old line “do you come here often?”). Users can opt out of the feature if they desire.
Safety & Security
As you would expect from a top quality platform with millions of users, security is paramount at match. There is a commitment that your information will not be shared with third parties. You will also find some useful safety tips for both online and offline dating. Finally, users must verify their account via email, filtering out many scammers right away.
What Users are Saying
“Match.com is a great dating site. There are lots of interesting women on the site and you have plenty of chances to learn more characteristics rather than just seeing a picture before you decide to connect.” – Damien, February 21, 2017
“When I write to people, they have to be registered to respond. So I like a lot of profiles but cannot always connect to the people.” – Melanie, March 10, 2017
Help & Support
Match.com features an in-depth help and FAQ section. It is broken up into 3 parts: search by keyword, issue by topic, and most popular questions. If users are not satisfied or have a question not answered on the site, there is also the “contact us” option where users send an in-site email to customer support. Match.com promises to respond within 48 hours.
Users can also chat with a representative from Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM, central time. Finally, premium members have phone support. When logged in, premium members will have access to the phone contact information.
Bottom Line
Match.com combines innovative features with a simplicity which makes the dating platform a pleasure to use. It is easy to see why match.com is available in 15 languages and popular worldwide.